Rite of passage for Nathan Kotzen after R5m Betway Summer Cup win

If your boss teaches you, you need to be better.

Those were the words of trainer Nathan Kotzen after Royal Victory won the R5-million Betway Summer Cup over 2000m at Turffontein on Saturday.

Kotzen was assistant to Mike de Kock for quite a while before going out on his own and this time, scoring his biggest success as a trainer, it was De Kock-trained Safe Passage who was the runner-up.

“Look, I would like to have beaten someone else rather than Mike but that’s the way it worked out,” said Kotzen. “It’s not nice to beat my old boss but you learn from your boss and you know what they say if your boss teaches you, you need to be better.”

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Kotzen teamed up with Muzi Yeni who also picked up his first Betway Summer Cup success with the four-year-old son of Pathfork. The Grade 1 race was run over 2000m on the Standside course.

Royal Victory went off at 33-1 but came home strongly in the closing stages to beat Mike de Kock-trained Safe Passage (11-2) by 2.25 lengths. Just 0.10 lengths back in third came the ever-consistent Bless My Stars (11-2) with Zeus (10-1) in fourth.

Yeni had to overcome No 14 draw but as it happened it all worked out ideally for him.

“When you’re drawn wide, but you’re drawn around the best horses, you always have a massive chance. I had Puerto Manzano on my outside and Winchester Mansion, who had penalties for winning the July on my inside. They chased forward, I tracked them, and I left them to do all the hard work and I was always going to ride my race late.

“From the 700m, I gave him a clear run on the inside but I was a bit concerned on how quickly he was making it up, but I nursed, nursed, nursed and over the last 300m I asked for an effort.

“I think he is the kind of horse who if you just leave him alone, comes back well.”

Yeni added that the pace was a bit muddled “but we picked it up at the 800m mark”.

It was a great moment for Kotzen who for a number of years was assistant trainer to Mike de Kock and ran their Durban yard. This was unquestionably his biggest win as a fully-fledged trainer.

After winning the Grade 3 Tony Ruffel Stakes over 1400m at Turffontein last season, Royal Victory went on to contest the first two legs of the WSB Triple Crown. He was touched off by Eye Of The Prophet in the Gauteng Guineas and finished a three-length fifth behind Anfields Rocket in Grade 1 SA Classic.

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“From day one I always rated this horse,” said Kotzen. “He lost his way a bit when we got him back from Joburg. I just gave him one or two runs over a short distance, I wasn’t too sure if he would stay. But when he won over 1900m at Greyville I thought I had to take a chance and I entered him into the Summer Cup, that’s why I supplemented him, and it paid off.

“I was definitely hoping for a place more than anything else, but he’s always been a horse if he’s left alone will handle it. That’s exactly what Muzi did. He rode a perfect race.

“Muzi and I go back a long time,” Kotzen reminisced, “he’s like my son.”

Kotzen said that he would now give his charge a good rest and then start to prepare him for his next mission – the 2024 Hollywoodbets Durban July.

Sandringham Summit was seen by many as the banker of the day in the Grade 2 Jonsson Workwear Dingaans for three-year-olds over 1600m, but the race did not go to plan.

According to jockey Gavin Lerena, he had the 1-3 favourite perfectly positioned some six lengths behind leader Gimmeanotherchance but then suffered interference.

“I was taken out by Denis Schwarz’s mount (Fire ‘N Flames) and after that my horse was never traveling,” said Lerena.

Despite that, Sandringham Summit still ran on from the back of the field but it was all too late and the best he could manage was third place, beaten just two lengths at the line. Mike de Kock-trained Gimmeanotherchance had built up a big lead and it was only in the dying strides that Purple Pitcher (25-2) finally got up to win by a neck.

It was that man Kabelo Matsunyane again, who pulled the rabbit out of the hat once again. “I was under pressure in the closing stages but my horse showed a lot of courage to get up.”

This was a great victory for young trainer Robyn Klaasen, whose charge has now notched up five wins in a row.

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De Kock’s pair of Gimme A Nother and White Pearl finished first and second respectively in the Grade 3 Betway Fillies Mile and both are worth following. The winner kept her unbeaten record intact, running out a two lengths winner under JP van der Merwe.

Dyce continued his incredible run of form, taking the Grade 3 New Turf Carriers Merchants over 1160m by 4.25 lengths. The Lucky Houdalakis-trained runner has now won six of his 12 races, including his last three.

He also did exotic punters a huge favour as many had bankered Main Defender in their bets and when he was withdrawn Dyce came home as the TAB favourite.

“The 2023 Betway Summer Cup was more than just a race – it was a fantastic celebration of the very best of horseracing on the Highveld – and it was a huge success!

We would like to thank Betway for their continued support and partnership with 4Racing, which helped us raise the bar to another level this year,” said Fundi Sithebe, 4Racing CEO.

Betway South Africa’s Jonathan Blumberg concurred. “This year’s Betway Summer Cup was yet another success with stakes increasing to a record R5 million, making it one of the richest horse racing events in Africa. We are thrilled to have partnered with 4Racing for another year, and this event was a showcase of the success this partnership can bring.

“We look forward to strengthening the partnership with 4Racing even further and taking this fantastic race day to even greater heights next year.